From 5 Hives to 11 – How We Rebuilt Our Apiary After Winter Losses

A Tough Start to the Season

Check out the youtube video

 

Last year didn’t exactly go to plan.

Over winter, we experienced significant colony losses, mostly due to queen failures. Our hive numbers dropped from eight down to just five—something many beekeepers will be familiar with after a difficult winter.

Rather than playing it safe this season, we decided to take a more aggressive approach and rebuild.

Our Plan to Expand the Apiary

To recover and grow, we:

• Purchased two overwintered nucleus colonies (nucs)
• Bought six mated Buckfast queens
• Invested in new hive equipment
• Added a second brood box to our strongest colonies

The goal was simple: create strong splits early in the season and rebuild our colony numbers quickly.

We sourced five queens from BS Honey Bees, with a sixth arriving later from Black Mountain Honey.

Making Splits and Moving to a New Apiary

While we don’t have footage of the splits themselves, the process involved taking frames of brood, stores, and bees from strong colonies and creating new nucleus hives.

These were then moved to our apiary at Painswick Rococo Garden.

This location is ideal for monitoring new colonies closely, especially during those critical early stages.

What Are Orientation Flights?

Shortly after moving the nucs, we observed large numbers of bees flying in front of the hive entrances.

These are known as orientation flights.

This behaviour allows bees to learn the exact location of their hive by mapping out landmarks and surroundings. It’s a normal and essential part of establishing a new colony—and a great sign that things are progressing well.

Why We Wait 8 Days Before Inspecting

After introducing new queens, timing is critical.

We wait around 7–8 days before opening the hive again. This gives the colony time to fully recognise that they do not have a laying queen.

During this period, they will often begin building emergency queen cells.

Why Removing Queen Cells Is Essential

Even though we’ve introduced a new queen, she remains inside a cage initially.

If the bees believe they can raise their own queen, they are far less likely to accept the one we’ve provided. In many cases, they will actually kill the introduced queen, seeing her as an intruder.

To prevent this, we carefully inspect every frame and remove all emergency queen cells.

This forces the colony into a hopelessly queenless state, significantly increasing the chances that they will accept the new mated queen.

Releasing the Queen Safely

Once all queen cells are removed, we allow the colony to release the queen gradually.

This is done by exposing the fondant inside the queen cage. Worker bees slowly eat through it over a couple of days, giving them time to become familiar with her scent.

This method dramatically improves acceptance rates compared to immediate release.

One Week Later: Checking for Success

After another week, we return to inspect the hives again.

At this stage, we’re looking for:

• The queen herself
• Freshly laid eggs

Eggs are the clearest sign that a queen has been successfully accepted and is actively laying.

Results: Successes and Setbacks

Out of the six new colonies:

• ✅ Four were successful – queens accepted and laying
• ⚠️ Two were uncertain – requiring further monitoring

In one case, the queen remained trapped in the cage and had to be manually released. In another, eggs were present but the queen could not be found, leaving the outcome unclear.

This is a normal part of beekeeping—queen introductions don’t always go perfectly.

What We’ll Be Watching Next

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be monitoring:

• Queen acceptance in the uncertain hives
• Brood pattern quality
• Colony strength and growth
• Food stores

With warm weather on the way, activity should increase rapidly.

Final Thoughts

Rebuilding after winter losses is never easy, but early intervention and strong management can make a huge difference.

Splitting strong colonies and introducing mated queens is one of the most effective ways to recover numbers quickly—but it comes with risks.

So far, a 4 out of 6 success rate is a solid outcome, and we’re optimistic about the rest.

Support Local Honey 🍯

If you’d like to support what we do, you can explore our range of raw, lightly filtered honey—produced right here in Gloucestershire.